Gazing Ball Palette | Premo Color Recipes Vol-051-B

1-B: Solitude
2-B: Reflection
3-B: Gazing Ball
4–B: Flower Pot

Years ago, Doug’s Mom Harriet, gave us some Gazing Balls to put in the garden. These unique adornments are actually a revived tradition dating back to the Victorian era.

Gazing Balls or Globes are steeped in history and folklore. According to gardenguides.com, “…the gazing ball is said to have been invented in Venice, Italy, in the 13th century. Skilled glass blowers crafted beautiful spheres in many sizes and colors. An Italian priest and chemist, known as Antonio Neri, referred to gazing balls in 1612 as ‘spheres of light’. Francis Bacon, in the 16th century, remarked that a ‘proper garden would have colored balls for the sun to play upon’. The gazing ball became popular in the 19th century because King Ludwig II of Bavaria had the balls placed throughout the gardens at his castle Herrenchiemsee, a replica of the castle at Versailles. Many homes in Europe and the United States had gazing balls in the Victorian era.”

Also from Garden Guides, “…gazing balls have had many names through the centuries: spirit balls, witch balls, friendship balls, butler balls and spirit catchers. People thought gazing balls brought good luck and prosperity to a home and abundant growth to plants and flowers. Homeowners put them near the front door of the house to keep evil spirits and witches away. Victorians gave them to each other as gifts of true friendship, thus the name friendship ball.”

Now the Gazing Balls in our garden are strictly there as pretty ornaments and not as an instrument to ward off evil spirits… though if they were capable of it, I would be fine with that :)

And since they are so pretty… and since Willow did a fine job capturing their beauty in this photograph, I think they make an excellent source of inspiration for our next B-Series Color Palette.

Everyone who is subscribed to my Polymer Clay Guest List will be able to download the following recipes free, one per week on Friday mornings during the month of August 2012:

• Solitude (Recipe 051-1B)
• Reflection (Recipe 051-2B)
• Gazing Ball (Recipe 051-3B)
• Flower Pot (Recipe 051-4B)

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… Solitude is the palest soft green found in the highlights of the gazing ball, as it sparkles in the garden. Reflection is the soft gray found not only in the reflection on the glass but in the background as well. (If you look closely in the ball, you will see the photographer reflected there as well). Gazing Ball is the turquoise color of the blown glass reflecting globe. And Flower Pot is the warm brown of the moss covered flower pot, where the Gazing Ball sits, so it doesn’t roll its way out of the garden.

The recipes described above are from the Volume-051 B-Series Palette. They are free to download for everyone subscribed to my Polymer Clay Guest List, Friday Email Newsletter.

If you want to see the Volume-051 A-Series Color Palette that paid library members will also receive during the month of August, then click here: Firetruck Color Palette

Really gorgeous, Cindy! Thanks so much for all of your striking palettes…your color recipes are just phenomenal! ~Phaedrakat

Just recently I finally decided to print out all your color recipe cards and purchased all the rest of the colors I needed to mix them up. It took a few days to mix it all but I now have a notebook full of the recipe cards with the color chip attached to them. I hand make miniature bonsai and other miniatures. I am using your color recipes to make the pots for the bonsai. Some of the colors are just out of this world beautiful. If I never did anything but mix colors I’d probably be perfectly content. ~Kathy-H

Beauty, beauty everywhere, in each color that you have created with love. How awesome is that? There aren’t “thanks” enough, Cindy for all the effort. ~Joyce-F

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Library Member Benefits and What Others Are Saying
Order Page for Color Recipe and Video Back Issue Packages
Become A Full Member at the Library